Conquering the Land

In class, we watched Working in a Coal Mine, an episode of Morgan Spurlock's documentary TV show, 30 Days. In this particular episode, Spurlock voluntarily descends into a coal mine to do hard labor every day for a month. After watching, we had a class discussion about why we mine coal. 
     The relatively obvious reasons of financial gain and having few other options came us pretty quickly, but then a factor that I would never have considered was brought up: Many of the miners, despite all of the safety risks and terrible working conditions, actually enjoy spending their days down below the surface of the earth and could not imagine a life for themselves where they do anything else.
     Sitting in a comfortable classroom, I could not fathom how anyone could actually think this way and want to support themselves by mining coal if they had any other options.
    Then, on Saturday morning my perspective changed and I came to understand these coal miners on a new level. For extra credit in biology, my class went to cut down Buckthorn trees, an invasive species that chokes out the local forest. After working for about three hours, we were all able to look around at the new clearing we had made and feel a real sense of accomplishment. Even though it was simple labor and did not require much thought, there was something refreshing about having "conquered the land".
    Finally, this all relates back to The Kentucky Cycle. The Rowan boys are always going on about how much they love owning and farming the land. They feel a bigger connection to it, as Patrick says, "IT AIN'T JUST DIRT! It's land" (Schenkkan 92). He truly sees a deeper meaning in it. 
     After my Buckthorn cutting experience, I am convinced that every human has a deep desire to make an imprint on their surroundings and leave something behind for future generations. That is why the Rowans love their land and that is why coal miners are willing to venture into the earth every day.